The official Panasonic PT-AR100U Owners Thread - Page 3

I got my PJ hung last night using this mount http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TUDOQ8/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

I'm actually very pleased with it. I was able to get it to lock into position without issue and I find it far sturdier than the old monoprice mount I was using. You can certainly wiggle the projector but I think it's acceptable. I recorded some video showing how the wiggle:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56403378@N05/8386944548/

There was one thing in the manual that I can see would be easy to overlook. When hanging the articulating part in the ceiling bracket there are some nylon spacers that need to go inside the ceiling bracket. Some people might try to put it on the outside which would prevent the bracket and articulating part from locking



Here is how I attached the mount to the PJ itself



Here it is all put together and on the ceiling. The astute observer will notice I had to rotate the whole thing a bit so it hung on the ceiling right but it is all the same idea.

That is quite a bit of wiggle and as long as there is no traffic above it should work out.

Looking at your other pictures I saw you have quite a bit of tilt to the projector. Ideally the projector should be mounted perfectly level front to back and side to side. After this is accomplished lens shift is used to place the image on the screen.

Somehow, despite how the PJ looks, the image on the screen looks great. My screen is a touch too low for the lens shift to make it but I have some room to play with so I could adjust it yet. I want to avoid using the extension arm because even at its shortest it'd be too much.

EDIT: If I think of it I'll post some images from it tonight

I understand why some people have to make adjustments based on their configuration and if it works for you that's great. My comments are mainly intended for those people who may think this is the way it's done and afterward wonder why the screen image has a trapezoidal look to it.

It's good advice. My 4805 was level but didn't have lens shift either so I had to use an extension arm. The whole unit was far smaller than this AR100U which took me by surprise.

The images do make it look terribly off and I can check my screen level and all of that tonight. I had about 5 hours to mess with it last night between mounting it, playing with menu settings, audio, programming my harmony remote. The screen as you probably saw is BOC on a rigid wooden frame. It's quite light. I hang that on some hooks on the entertainment center so it is easy to remove for when we just want to use the TV behind it (a 40" samsung).

I also need to go through my sound and verify that I'm getting all of my audio channels. I either had some bad source material or I'm now missing my center audio.

I should also add that this PJ's fan noise is a bit louder than the 4805 it replaces, even with eco mode on. Not sure how I feel about that yet.

You should notice a very distinct change in fan noise when switching from full power to eco mode, if you don't hear the noise decrease there could be something wrong with the switch-over. If you can tell the difference then it's probably fine. The InFocus 4805 was not noted as being a quiet projector either but supposedly was okay in eco mode. It's interesting that you find the AR100U to be a bit louder. The AR100U has 5 cooling fans rather than the usual 3 fan configuration used by many other projectors. I'm sure you have noticed the AR100U is a much bigger and heavier projector.

I'm sure this has more to do with my receiver when switching sources or even channels....but is anyone elses AR showing a blue screen dispalaying a picture of what input is being used when changing channels or switching between cable and blu-ray?

That's normal. The AR100U is always actively searching for a source. In addition to providing the sound your AVR is a switcher. If you are using HDMI to switch from cable to Blu-ray player and getting the blue screen it's an issue with either the cable box and/or receiver briefly dropping the signal and causing the AR100U to reestablish the connection, it's an HDMI handshake thing.

I don't have that problem since I use a component cable from the cable box to the projector (bypassing the AVR) and it does not go to the blue screen during channel changes.

The blue screen is normal.

Thanks fellas. I feel better now. My old AX switched without the blue screen popping up so I was just making sure. Three weeks in with this beast and I'm still saying wow at the brightness.

Costco is now selling the Panasonic PT-AR100U projector although the price is the same as most online merchants at $1300.

However Costco customers know of their generous 90 day return policy.

^ ha ha this is my NEW hot PJ. Bright. Flexible. Seems to have much less issues than the 8350 and new benq 1070 I've been looking at, but of course there a substantial fewer number of owners with the ar 100.

Wish I could have nailed that $1000 price point!

James

I love my PT-AR100U. I've had it a year or so and was able to buy it for $1199 and then mail in the $100 rebate to Panasonic. Best $1099 + shipping I ever spent on home theater. I think my screen cost more. The AR100U replaces a Marantz VP-12S1, so you can see I don't spade over the equipment too often. The Panasonic cost less than 10% of the Marantz and gives a brighter, sharper, better picture. I'm in heaven.
Edited by W8MM - 2/4/13 at 5:19am

I found that adding the Darbee Darblet (video processor) between my Denon AVR and the AR100U produced a sharper picture and more like what a DLP projector produces. It's an expense that many projector owners (in this price range) don't feel justified in spending but it clearly benefits the AR100U. I mention this because I see you own (or owned) a DD and didn't see an improvement with your TV's. Did you try it on the 100?

EDIT: My mistake. I see now that you were just inquiring about the DD, not an actual owner.
Edited by Mr.G - 2/4/13 at 8:46am

Yep, but just as a heads up, seeing sales tax is now avoidable with them (Costco) some may want to order online elsewhere and put the extra $70-$100 towards an extended square trade warranty or something similar.

Just about ready to pull the trigger on this. Was considering the benq 1070 but the QC issues with it and lack of lens shift pretty much knocked it out...the extra brightness of the 100 helps too.

Re the 100's lens shift, I have short ceiling (7' 2") and would like to place the PJ as high up on the wall as possible to eliminate some blocking the image when getting off/on my sectional.

If I'm going for an 88" image 11' away, with the top of the screen 6 inches from the ceiling I should have enough shift to place the PJ about a foot from the ceiling, correct?

With a 43' tall screen I should have about 28" of vertical shift from center, correct? Enough to drop the 21 1/2" of screen and 2 1/2" screen border down from the ceiling about 3"?

Just want to make sure, thanks.

James
Edited by mastermaybe - 2/7/13 at 12:56pm

I'd love some help
I've had this projector for about a month now and there is a noticeable flicker on bright scenes and moving scenes.
I've checked the devices I send signal from (tv, bluray, Xbox) and they all have the same issue.
I've checked the cable (10m hdmi cable) by using another cable and the issue is still there
I've had an electrician check the power supply and that is consistent and normal
I've tried every flipping setting on the menu (dynamic iris etc) to no avail
I've run the lamp on normal for the past week or so to see if that fixes it but there is no change at all
There are about 20 hours on the lamp

Any ideas or thoughts about what could be causing this?

I posted a reply in the other AR100U thread.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1358778/panasonic-pt-ar100-msrp-1-999-4000u-replacement-kind-of/840#post_22950036

Recently purchased my AR-100U in time for the Super Bowl.

I posted my review in the other thread...

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1358778/panasonic-pt-ar100-msrp-1-999-4000u-replacement-kind-of/870#post_22977370

Spoiler Alert!
I liked it

Eastporters finally got in the replacement lamp and shipped it to me!
Cost was $435, which for Canada isn't bad. Hopefully a year from now they'll be cheap with more of them shipping.
FYI, I tried a "Compatible" bulb from Hong Kong and only got 900 hrs out of it (for my old PT-AX200) before it died... I've NEVER had problem getting more than full life out of actual Pana lamps.

Original lamp is at 3,387 hrs (yes, I had to reset the counter when it hit 3,000), all run in Eco mode. I'll keep it as a spare since it's still in great condition.

Questions about brightness? Here's a shot today, in our living room, Eco/Normal/TV, under the open skylight, with the original 3,387hr lamp before I changed it....



We still use the AR100 for TV, PS3, and movies on a daily basis. Working perfect for us!


Needs updating, but more of my system's specs and pics here:
http://www.terrencewalters.com/wordpress/hi-fi/
Edited by mulpha - 2/23/13 at 5:29pm

I got some new pics posted on my screen build thread with the PT-AR100U!

The pics were all taken at about noon today with plenty of ambient light

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1355192/advice-on-156-painted-wall-screen-18-throw-2500-lumens-lots-of-ambient-light/30#post_23061320

I saw an ar 100u the other day at the deutsche museum. It was projected on a 60" screen and at first i confused it with a huge and brilliant LCD. i only after saw the projector on the back. It was really amazing to confuse it with an LCD.

Steven, I don't think the AR100U has the power off feature where it shuts off after a certain amount of inactivity or no signal - at least I could not find it in the owner's manual. It would be nice to have, my Panasonic HDTV plasma set has it.

You mentioned using a universal remote to shut-off the projector, have you tried using the regular remote? I have not had one instance of the projector coming back on after entering the cool-down state.

Have you tried contacting Panasonic support?

***New reading***

I measure the brightness of the AR100U bulb in VIVID CINEMA picture mode (eco setting) using my lux meter, taking the average of 9 points on the screen.

February (2012) original reading: 1417 lumens.

July (2012) reading: 1333 lumens (600 hours).

November (2012) reading: 1300 lumens (1000 hours).

April (2013) reading: 1163 lumens (1510 hours).

This represents roughly a loss of 18% in brightness for 1510 hours of use (the hours are calculated by the AR100U's internal clock).

I believe this is unusually good and much better than the average among other projectors. I use the projector almost every day for 3-4 hours.

I will continue to measure at regular 500 hour intervals.

-G

Edit: An overview of how this is accomplished and what it means is covered nicely in this article: The Life of a Projector's Lamp

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Edited by Mr.G - 4/16/13 at 9:16am